The commanding officer of the U.S. Blue Angels flight demonstration team has resigned, saying he led a maneuver that flew too close to the ground.
Cmdr. Dave Koss, of Orange Park, Fla., stepped down Friday after a Sunday performance in which he led four of the team's six jets in a "lower-than-normal" maneuver at an air show in Lynchburg, Va., the Marine Corps Times reported.
"With deep personal regret I shared with my command today that I will be voluntarily leaving the greatest flight demonstration team," Koss said in a statement. "I performed a maneuver that had an unacceptably low minimum altitude. This maneuver, combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is, led to my decision to step down."
The Navy didn't say how low the F/A-18 jets were flying, but they are not supposed to fly lower than 500 feet.
"Let's think about how the Blues fly," Naval Air Forces spokeswoman Cmdr. Pauline Storum said. "The rest of that formation is lined up on the leader. So he has to be perfect, every time. They are spotting based on his position."
Koss wasn't available for comment, Storum said, and the newspaper said he couldn't be independently reached.
"What's really striking about this is that they regroup, they go back to Pensacola, and the commander has the courage and integrity to tell his boss, 'You know what? I need to step aside,'" Storum said.
Cmdr. Dave Koss, of Orange Park, Fla., stepped down Friday after a Sunday performance in which he led four of the team's six jets in a "lower-than-normal" maneuver at an air show in Lynchburg, Va., the Marine Corps Times reported.
"With deep personal regret I shared with my command today that I will be voluntarily leaving the greatest flight demonstration team," Koss said in a statement. "I performed a maneuver that had an unacceptably low minimum altitude. This maneuver, combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is, led to my decision to step down."
The Navy didn't say how low the F/A-18 jets were flying, but they are not supposed to fly lower than 500 feet.
"Let's think about how the Blues fly," Naval Air Forces spokeswoman Cmdr. Pauline Storum said. "The rest of that formation is lined up on the leader. So he has to be perfect, every time. They are spotting based on his position."
"What's really striking about this is that they regroup, they go back to Pensacola, and the commander has the courage and integrity to tell his boss, 'You know what? I need to step aside,'" Storum said.
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